Many computer systems process graphics data to display models of objects on a screen. For example, computer-aided design (“CAD”) systems may display a graphical model of a physical object being designed, or a video game may display virtual objects rendered in a virtual environment.
A user may desire to change the view of the model that appears on the screen. In a CAD environment, for example, the user may desire to view an object being designed from various angles or points of view (which may be known as a “vantage point of the view” or simply “vantage point,” or an “eye point”). To change the view of an on-screen model, the user may move a pointer, or cone 101 (FIG. 1), on the screen to point at the model 102 from the desired vantage point, thereby causing the model to rotate to present a view of the model from that vantage point. Alternately, a user may manipulate the view of a model by selecting a pre-defined view from a menu (FIG. 2), or by manipulating the orientation of a proxy image elsewhere on the screen. Each of these examples undesirably requires the user to look away from the model when manipulating the model.